Artifact survey of rail bed proceeding on schedule

An archeological survey of the proposed Stoughton Line for the SouthCoast commuter rail line is on schedule to be completed by Jan. 15.

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By ARIEL WITTENBERG

southcoasttoday.com

By ARIEL WITTENBERG

Posted Jan. 12, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jan 12, 2013 at 6:53 AM

By ARIEL WITTENBERG

Posted Jan. 12, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jan 12, 2013 at 6:53 AM

» Social News

An archeological survey of the proposed Stoughton Line for the SouthCoast commuter rail line is on schedule to be completed by Jan. 15.

In September, Environmental Protection Agency Region One Administrator Curtis Spalding told The Standard-Times the process for documenting Native American artifacts found along the former rail bed could easily be delayed by bad weather.

This week, South Coast Rail Manager Jean Fox said the process is on schedule.

The survey is part of the process to determine which route commuter rail should take between Boston and New Bedford. Leaders in the region strongly prefer a line that runs from Stoughton and through Hockamock Swamp on pre-existing track. The final choice is left up to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers following its review of the archeological survey, which is part of a broader environmental impact study.

The scope of the archeological survey is "pretty complex," according to Fox, who said it "involves an awful lot of digging test pits and having discussions with the Mashpee, Aquinnah and Narragansett Wampanoag tribes."

The survey is federally mandated to ensure that any culturally significant artifacts are not disturbed by the train tracks or any noise or vibrations created by a train.

Ramona Peters, director of historic preservation for the Mashpee Wampanoag, said "there are some potentially sensitive areas" near the tracks, which will have to be widened to accommodate modern trains.

She declined to be specific to prevent them from being disturbed by curious residents, but said that "if there are any finds in those areas around the tracks, we will participate in finding a means to mitigate the construction's impact."

Peters said the archeological survey has already found "a few flakes" left by "ancestors who were sharpening their tools, either arrowheads or cutting knives."

While finding a burial site is an example of something that would require mitigation, she said the shavings would not.

"There are some specific areas of our homelands associated with a village burial ground, but we cannot say there is anything like that along the South Coast Rail," she said. "But a randomly placed individual gravesite is hard to predict and we have to be vigilant to watch for that."

The archeological survey is just one component of a final environmental impact study being compiled by the state Department of Transportation for review by the Army Corps of Engineers. Other issues considered in the Impact Study include ecology, water quality, biodiversity, wetlands, threatened and endangered species and air quality, according to Army Corps Project Manager Alan Anacheka-Nasemann.

He declined to say when the Army Corps would make its ruling but said the agency "has already begun writing" parts of its final assessment in order to reach its target completion date of March 13.